Continuing to impress

Sadly, today we left Prague and headed 3 hours south to Cesky Krumlov. I was a little less than enthused about riding in the bus for 3 hours- but I made it and without any motion sickness! :)
I thought I was going to miss Prague, I didn't think it could get any better and then I stepped off the bus, walked up the cobblestone street and entered the main sq. of Cesky Krumlov. It is absolutely the cutest little town I have ever seen! The streets are cobblestone, the building roofs are red, the houses are quaint, colorful and they all have flower boxes in the windows. And just when you didn't think it could get any cuter, you see the river running through the center of town, lined with restaurant patios. The castle in town doesn't disappoint either. The grounds are large and plush, with great views of the country side. If you look closely you can see sheep in the fields in the distance. And there are cute little shops lining the cobblestone streets that sell anything from souvenirs to yummy desserts and coffees.
We were in town for only a day so we had to hit the major highlights quickly. We went to the castle and walked around the grounds, bought tickets for the bell tower, and ended with a quick stop at a market on the grounds. After, we were a little ambitious and decided that we would take a rafting tour of the city. We signed up and walked around town to kill time before our boat was ready. Let me tell you, it is NOTHING like the US- we didn't sign a waiver (or at least we don't think we did), and we weren't given any instructions. Just that we had the boat for as long as we needed and this is where to get out of the river. Huh?...that's it? But we don't really know what we're doing... Oh, well they didn't care! So we pilled into the boat and ventured down the river. While this wasn't a class 4 rapids, this wasn't just some lazy river, you can get drunk in and not care where you float to. We actually encountered rapids, where it would have been helpful to know what we were doing....Needless to say, we may have hit a pillar on one of the bridges, a few walls, a kayak, and almost got beheaded by a weeping willow as we accidentally went under it...opps! Nevertheless, it was an experience and we had fun!
We ended the night with dinner on the river and dessert (chocolate crepes, and coffee) at a nearby cafe.
Sadly today is our last night in the Czech Republic. I have to say, this may be one of the best countries I have ever visited- it is absolutely beautiful! Austria has some big shoes to fill.....